nutrients Article Prevalence and Predictors of Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency among Pregnant Rural Women in Bangladesh Faruk Ahmed 1,*, Hossein Khosravi-Boroujeni 1, Moududur Rahman Khan 2, Anjan Kumar Roy 3 and Rubhana Raqib 3 1 Public Health, School of Medicine, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Gold Coast, QLD 4220, Australia;
[email protected] 2 Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh;
[email protected] 3 International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh;
[email protected] (A.K.R.);
[email protected] (R.R.) * Correspondence: f.ahmed@griffith.edu.au Abstract: Although adequate vitamin D status during pregnancy is essential for maternal health and to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, limited data exist on vitamin D status and associated risk factors in pregnant rural Bangladeshi women. This study determined the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, and identified associated risk factors, among these women. A total of 515 pregnant women from rural Bangladesh, gestational age ≤ 20 weeks, participated in this cross-sectional study. A separate logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the risk factors of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency. Overall, 17.3% of the pregnant women had vitamin D deficiency [serum 25(OH)D concentration <30.0 nmol/L], and 47.2% had vitamin D insufficiency [serum 25(OH)D concentration between 30–<50 nmol/L]. The risk of vitamin D insufficiency was significantly higher among nulliparous pregnant women (OR: 2.72; 95% CI: 1.75–4.23), those in their first trimester (OR: Citation: Ahmed, F.; 2.68; 95% CI: 1.39–5.19), anaemic women (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 0.99–2.35; p = 0.056) and women whose Khosravi-Boroujeni, H.; Khan, M.R.; Roy, A.K.; Raqib, R.